An Old Acquaintance
by thereasonisurvive
Summary: This takes place after Ezra and Aria have gotten engaged. Now when both Ezra and Aria are adults they have no reason to hide their relationship. But what happens when the run into an old acquaintance from their past on the streets of Rosewood? Are they ready to be open about their relationship...? And what is the towns reaction to it?
1. Chapter 1

_This is my first time writing fan fiction. In fact it's my first time writing much of anything in a few years. I thought it would be fun to try though since I tend to have a lot of ideas in my head. English isn't my first language either but I hope it's okay anyway. Leave me a review and let me know if you want me to write the rest of it._

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"I'll wait outside!" Aria called to Ezra as she left his apartment. It was a warm day and she couldn't wait any longer to get outside and she hoped to catch a nice cooling breeze. "Okay! I'll be out in a minute!" he called back from the bathroom. She quickly made her way through The Brew and out through the front door.

"Oh sorry!" she mumbled. She had accidentally bumped in someone who was on their way into The Brew. "Don't worry abo... Aria!" the person she had run into exclaimed. Aria looked up. In front of her stood Mrs. Welch, one of her old teachers from Rosewood High, with a big smile on her face. "Mrs. Welch!" Aria said in surprise. She didn't really know what else to say, it's a strange thing to meet a teacher outside of school, especially when it has been a few years since you graduated. What are you supposed to say? But Aria didn't need to worry about this for long. "Oh you can call me Anne, it's been quite a few years since I was your teacher now after all," she laughed a little. "How have you been? The last time I saw your mother she said you had moved to Boston, that you were working for a publishing company. Are you just here visiting?" she said. She seemed to be genuinely interested. Aria had always liked Mrs. Welch, she was such a good hearted person who always seemed want the best for everybody around her. "Yeah, that's true. But I'm back here in Rosewood for a while now. I've been here for a few weeks already," she answered. "That must be nice for your parents. How long a..." but she stopped mid sentence. She was looking down at Aria's hands. "Oh my god is that an engagement ring!?" she burst out.

In the same moment Ezra came out from the Brew. "Sorry I took a little long, my phone rang." He stopped short when he saw who Aria was talking to. He went quite stiff but Mrs. Welch didn't seem to notice anything off about him. "I just keep running into old students and colleagues from Rosewood high today!" she said instead. "Hi Ezra," she said enthusiastically and all Ezra could conjure up was a nervous smile. Aria hadn't seen his face like this since that night a long time ago when he was standing in front of her parents, mustering up the strength to tell them about his and Arias relationship. "First I run into Aria and now you," she continued. "You remember Aria Montgomery right? I think she was in your class back when you were teaching at Rosewood High." "Yeah," was all Ezra managed to say, his face was turning a little red. "Anyway, Aria here seemed to have gotten engaged! So, who is the lucky guy?" Now Aria was turning red as well. She didn't know what to say. She assumed none of the staff at her old high school had known about her relationship with Ezra. There had been rumors about him being involved with a student at some point but the teachers had never thought there was any truth to it. Aria glanced over at Ezra, hoping for some help.

"I am," Ezra said slowly and with a slight tremor on his voice. Mrs. Welch looked over at Ezra with a confused look on her face. "Sorry, what? I don't think I heard you correctly." Ezra took a deep breath and then he said "I'm the lucky guy... Aria and I are getting married."


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you for your feedback! It made me want to keep writing. We'll see how far I'll take this story, I have at least a few more chapters in mind. Hope you'll enjoy and know that I greatly appreciate you leaving a review._

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Mrs. Welch didn't seem to know where to look, what to say or even what to do. She looked as if she was waiting, or maybe more like hoping, that someone would tell her that it was just a joke, but no one did. "You're not serious, are you?" she said finally, looking at Ezra, laughing nervously. But neither Ezra nor Aria was laughing with her. Ezra avoided her gaze and instead looked down at his feet, opening his mouth but no words came out. Aria could tell that he was quietly starting to panic, his courage from a few seconds ago now failing him. Mrs. Welch wasn't laughing anymore. She looked to Aria now with a confused frown on her face. "Yes actually, we are completely serious," she said and took Ezra's hand and leaned into him. Ezra looked up at her and their eyes met. Aria smiled towards him and he seemed to calm down a bit and smiled back at her.

Mrs. Welch's expression was slowly changing from confused to slightly appalled. "So how long have you been seeing each other?" she inquired accusingly, more to Ezra than Aria. Her tone had changed. Her voice was no longer filled with warmth but with judgement. Both Aria and Ezra knew what she must be thinking about. She was quickly connecting the old rumors about Ezra with Aria and their engagement. Now it was Ezra's turn to laugh nervously. "Well.. It's – eh – it's complicated," he managed to say, not quite meeting Mrs. Welch's gaze. "You don't say..." she retorted.

They stood there silently for a few seconds but it felt like a lifetime. Ezra was looking at his feet again, oozing of shame under Mrs. Welch's stare. Aria were frozen as well, looking between the other two as if she was watching a game of tennis. Finally Mrs. Welch broke the silence. "I have to get going. It was nice seeing you Aria." She walked off without giving Ezra another glance.

Ezra exhaled as if he had been holding his breath for the last few minutes. "Ezra it's okay! Just relax," Aria said trying to calm him down. "'Relax'?" he said looking at her incredulously. "She didn't even say good bye to me. Don't you realize what she must be thinking?! About me, about us?" Aria didn't answer. Ezra took a couple of deep breaths in an attempt to calm down. His mind was spinning. He had thought that the anxiety he had felt in the past about his relationship with Aria in the eyes of the rest of the world was just that – a thing of the past. It was not supposed to be like this now. The were both adults, consenting adults in an adult relationship, not a high school teacher secretly dating his teenage student. Not anymore...

"Maybe we should go back inside..?" Aria suggested. Ezra nodded and they headed back through the door together. It was still unbearably hot in Ezra's apartment but this was no longer a concern of Aria's. Her problems was no longer going to be fixed just by the gentle touch of a cool breeze.


End file.
